Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

However, Kitano didn't know that he had been targeted by one of the most dangerous individuals in Tracen Academy, a place already teeming with "man-eating mares." Of course, even if he did, he probably wouldn't care much. As he had said, his experience from so many playthroughs had taught him that the horse girls willing to accept a terminally ill person like him as their trainer were rarely normal.

In other words, over his many playthroughs, he had taught almost all the "not-so-normal" horse girls at Tracen. They were either the vanguards of "heavy track" fan-fiction or its guardians—but now, under his guidance, every single one of them had become an absolute model student, neither participating in any "forced training sessions" nor showing any "delightful" jealousy plots.

And all of this was thanks to his reality. His physical condition, which he explained to every charge from the start, and these good kids, who, despite their quirky personalities, would, without exception, put his wishes first once they were instilled with a belief, had no time for such drama.

And that included the lab-coated horse girl who was secretly observing him... but all of that had nothing to do with him now. The first thing he had to deal with was the matter of Mr. C.B.

Her father drove them to the house. As Tamamo helped him back into his wheelchair, her eyes were immediately drawn to the conspicuous ginkgo tree in the yard of the detached Western-style house.

"Wow, what a huge ginkgo tree! I've never seen one so big!"

Tamamo was completely captivated. C.B.'s mother, clearly used to such praise, smiled gently. "Many people say that. This tree is C.B.'s favorite. When we first moved here, it wasn't even as tall as the wall."

She explained to the entranced Kitano and Tamamo. However, she didn't know that for Tamamo, her first reaction to such a tall tree was not its beauty, but—

A tree this big must produce so many ginkgo nuts. Maybe I can secretly pick some to take home for the little ones?

Tamamo swallowed. After a strong internal struggle, she managed to tear her gaze away. However, Kitano, in his wheelchair, was still lost in the sight, his eyes sparkling like crystals in the sunlight...

"...Is C.B. the one who takes care of this ginkgo?"

"Yes, she's been fond of it since we moved here." C.B.'s mother didn't think much of it, just assuming that someone like him, who had had a difficult life, was easily moved by such scenes. She simply opened the front door.

"Trainer Kitano, and Tamamo-san, please come in. The girl should still be in her room on the second floor. I'll go try to call her down—"

"No need. I can go myself. Let's not disturb her."

Kitano finally retracted his gaze and, with Tamamo's help, slowly entered the familiar house. But as he passed the ginkgo tree, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, suppressing the emotion in his heart.

So... it's been that long. This ginkgo, which he and C.B. had planted with their own hands, was now so tall and lush.

He had never expected that this playthrough, which he had already judged to be special, would even preserve traces of his past. This made him suspect even more that C.B.'s drastic change in personality might be related to this special playthrough.

But all of this would have to wait until he saw her...

After entering the house, he stood up with Tamamo's help and, as he headed for the stairs, he didn't forget to turn and instruct the worried couple:

"I'll do my best, but I hope you won't disturb us while I'm talking to her. She might need some space to vent."

"We know." X2

After giving his instructions, he slowly made his way up to the second floor with Tamamo's help. When he stopped in front of C.B.'s room, which he remembered from his memory, Tamamo, under his gaze, tiptoed back downstairs.

Finally, only he and C.B. were left on the second floor. After gathering his thoughts, he gently knocked on her door. A moment later, he heard her tired, low voice from inside:

"...Dad, I told you I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"—C.B., it's me, Kitano Ryuichi."

At that moment, as his voice echoed in the hallway, he suddenly heard something heavy fall to the floor inside, followed by her rare, flustered voice:

"Huh? Huh?! Why is Trainer Kitano at my house?"

"Can I come in?" Hearing her voice suddenly regain its vitality, he knew his tactic was working. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he placed his hand on the doorknob, pretending to be about to enter.

As expected, the moment he turned the knob, he felt a counter-force stopping him. C.B., clearly not expecting this, had completely lost her usual cool and dashing demeanor, stammering:

"N-not yet—give me a minute! Just one minute! Let me get ready!"

"Okay, I'll count down from sixty here. 60?"

"Ahhhhh—"

Hearing him actually counting, her movements became even more frantic. For a moment, accompanied by his countdown, a series of noises came from the room—the rustling of plastic bags, the sound of packaging boxes, and various other objects being moved and clothes being tidied.

When he reached "7," the door finally opened slowly, and C.B. revealed only half her face, her tone unusually weak and unconfident. "P-please come in. It's a bit messy, I didn't have time to clean..."

As she opened the door, he finally entered her bedroom once again.

Everything was as he remembered—a room with warm, wood-like colors, a display cabinet filled with small trinkets she couldn't bear to throw away, and a floor that looked clean at first glance, but with a few obvious traces of seasoning, a testament to her recent frantic cover-up.

"Hahahaha... why did you visit without calling, Trainer Kitano?" C.B. tried to act calm, awkwardly scratching her cheek with a finger to hide her embarrassment, her eyes not daring to meet his. "If you had told me earlier, my parents and I could have prepared. It's not good for guests to see a messy room..."

"..." However, he wasn't paying attention to her words. His eyes scanned the room and locked onto the only wardrobe. One of its doors was slowly closing by inertia—but it seemed to be stuck, unable to close completely.

Seeing this, he silently approached the wardrobe. Under her increasingly embarrassed and horrified gaze, the all-knowing Kitano slowly pulled the door open, as if opening the treasure-filled cave from the story of Ali Baba...

CRASH!

...Unfortunately, what poured out was not treasure, but bags of long-accumulated trash, various instant food packages, and what appeared to be some of her discarded underwear, torn stockings, and other personal items, filling several garbage bags, now completely exposed before him.

"Eeeeeek—!"

"...Is that a good reaction?"

However, hearing their daughter's seemingly崩溃-like scream, C.B.'s parents, who had been eavesdropping on the stairs, couldn't help but look at each other, unsure if this reaction was good or bad.

"...At least she sounds energetic? That should be a good thing for us, right?"

"Probably?"

However, compared to the couple, Tamamo Cross, who was standing with them, had a pained expression on her face, once again taking on the role of the straight man. "What the hell? Screaming like some manga heroine whose secret has just been discovered by the male lead? Tracen Academy is not a matchmaking service."

"So what happens next? According to the usual plot, the male lead who barged into the heroine's room should be kicked out now, right? If that really happens, I don't even know where to start my吐槽."

However, contrary to what Tamamo expected, he was not kicked out by the mortified C.B. Or rather, in her subconscious, there was never an option to drive him away.

And having her messy side exposed, besides being angry, she was more ashamed than anything else. Like now, she could only curl up in a corner, burying her face in her knees, clearly feeling she could never show her face again.

But fortunately, as her former trainer, he was very familiar with her disastrous self-care abilities. Though she lived alone, her personal life, outside of her horse girl arrangements, was a complete mess. Her parents were also very worried about her living alone, fearing her lifestyle would be the end of her.

But these problems were all solved after he became her trainer—not because she learned how to take care of herself, but because she knew that as long as his body could hold up, she wouldn't have to worry about simple things like cleaning and cooking.

And now, relying on his deep understanding of her, he had finally broken through her defenses. And this was the state he wanted. He needed her to let down her guard and say everything on her mind.

Only by speaking the truth could she resolve the conflict and gloom in her heart. After confirming his plan, he slowly leaned against the wall beside her and, when he felt the time was right, asked softly:

"I've heard about your situation from your parents. Although I don't know why you're so down, locking yourself in your room is never a good thing."

"If you feel you can, would you be willing to share your troubles with me? What happened after the race that day, C.B.-senpai? Why did you suddenly become so dejected?"

"...Don't laugh at me. I know what I'm about to say might sound strange, but... I really do feel this way."

However, faced with his questioning, C.B.'s muffled voice finally came from her buried face. She slowly lifted her head and, after seemingly searching her mind countless times for the answer to her gloom, she finally let out a sigh and a bitter smile.

"I just belatedly realized... that my life seems to have been a complete failure."

"Always running forward alone, with no one behind to support me. I think... that's probably why I can't beat Rudolf."

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